How a Plumber Achieved 4.8× ROAS on Google Ads

The account had three fundamental problems: no negative keyword list allowing budget to be wasted on DIY plumbing searches and product searches, no conversion tracking making it impossible to know which keywords generated actual calls versus wasted clicks, and a single broad campaign structure making it impossible to allocate budget toward what worked.

ROAS stands for Return on Ad Spend. A 4.8x ROAS means that for every dollar spent on Google Ads, 4.80 dollars in revenue was generated. For the plumbing company, this represented the difference between barely breaking even and running a profitable, sustainable paid media channel that justified continued and increased investment.

Google LSA added the Google Guaranteed badge to the plumbing company's listing at the very top of search results. This badge verifies the business is licensed and insured, which is particularly important for emergency plumbing situations where customers are making fast decisions. The badge resulted in a 34% higher close rate from LSA leads compared to standard Google Ads leads.

The 340-plus negative keywords added included terms like DIY, how to, parts, supply, kit, wholesale, certification, course, apprentice, hire a plumber yourself and hundreds of similar intent-signalling terms that indicate the searcher is not looking to hire a plumber. Removing these searches eliminated a significant portion of the budget that was generating clicks but no booked jobs.

Before call tracking there was no data connecting phone calls to specific ads or keywords. After implementing dedicated tracking numbers, we could see exactly which keywords, ad groups and campaigns generated genuine emergency calls versus which generated irrelevant or low-intent calls. This attribution data drove every subsequent bid adjustment and budget allocation decision.

The first profitable month was achieved within 60 days of the account takeover. The initial 30 days involved implementing negative keywords, restructuring ad groups, adding conversion tracking and rebuilding landing pages. The second month saw the cost per lead drop to 41 dollars and ROAS reach 4.8x as the optimisations took effect with accumulated click and conversion data.

The campaign was structured around three primary service categories: emergency plumbing and burst pipes capturing high-urgency high-value callouts, drain unblocking and clearing targeting a high-frequency service with fast decisions, and boiler and hot water repairs capturing larger average job value work. Each category had its own ad group, budget allocation and dedicated landing page.

Emergency call volume increased by focusing budget on time-sensitive search terms that indicate immediate need, using call-only ad formats that connect searchers directly to the phone number without visiting a landing page, scheduling ads to appear during hours when emergency calls are most valuable, and using location bid adjustments to focus spend within the plumber's realistic service radius.

Google Ads works effectively for plumbing companies of all sizes. Solo operators and small teams can compete directly with large plumbing franchises because Google Ads placement is determined by bid and quality score rather than company size or brand recognition. The most important factor is getting the account structure and targeting right, not the size of the business.

We recommend a minimum of 1,500 dollars per month in ad spend for most local plumbing markets, with 2,500 to 4,000 dollars per month for competitive major metro areas. Given the high average job value of plumbing work, particularly emergency callouts, even a modest spend generating 5 to 10 additional jobs per month typically delivers strong positive ROI from the first month.